


Bow and Arrow

by scarletchidori



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Clint Barton Needs a Hug, F/M, Fluff, Gen, My First Work in This Fandom, Natasha Romanov Needs a Hug, Natasha Romanov's Arrow Necklace, i though about this after watching endgame, i'm late to the party i know but whatever, never forget that natasha deserved better
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-04
Updated: 2020-05-04
Packaged: 2021-03-03 05:28:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,190
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24009628
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scarletchidori/pseuds/scarletchidori
Summary: He opens the door with a bright smile. Natasha always thought that Clint has the brightest smile she ever saw. But maybe it is just because she loves him and cares for him, perhaps it is the love she feels for him that makes him shine like that.
Relationships: Clint Barton & Natasha Romanov, Clint Barton/Natasha Romanov
Kudos: 12





	Bow and Arrow

**Author's Note:**

> So this is my first work in the fandom. I thought about this after watching Endgame. I've always loved Nat and Clint relationship - I ship them since the first Avenger, but I don't know if this shot can be seen as them being lovers or just best friends. I'm really nervous about this because I don't know if I wrote them in character or out of character.
> 
> As always kudos are really appreciated, and if you want let me know what you think.

Natasha never cared about her birthday. It has always been a day like any other, no reason to celebrate, no person with whom to celebrate the day of her birth.

Having to hide all the details of her life never helped her. Everything, even her real name is a mystery. But not for Clint. Clint is the only one to whom she confessed details of her life, details that in theory should have remained a secret. They taught her that less disclosure and less detail can be used against you, against your mission and goal.

She was born to fight, trained to fight. The things she has seen and the things she has done should not exist. How can she celebrate her birthday when she hurt so many people? There was a mission, a goal, but this doesn’t prevent her from feeling a sense of guilt, deep in her heart. She finds now reason to celebrate her birthday. The other Avengers are unaware of the details in her life, they never forced her to say anything, but she fears they may think less of her if she confesses something about herself. All the things she was forced to do… no, she cannot bring herself to do that.

Tony allowed everyone to live in the building he built, this allowed her bond with the others to develop even more - except for Thor, who divides his time between the earth and Asgard.

She hears someone knocking on her door.

“It’s me, Nat,” Clint says “May I enter?”

“Sure,” she replies, rolling her eyes with a smile.

She knows why he is here. He never missed her birthday, no matter what happened in her or his life, Clint always had a sweet message for her - and sometimes even gifts.

He opens the door with a bright smile. Natasha always thought that Clint has the brightest smile she ever saw. But maybe it is just because she loves him and cares for him, perhaps it is the love she feels for him that makes him shine like that.

“Hello, Natalia,” he greets her.

“Hi, Hawkeye,” she says “What brings you here?”

“You, of course,” he replied shrugging his shoulders “You thought I didn’t remember?”

“Of course not”.

“You and I will see each other less, now that I decided to take a break from missions,” he explains, “So I thought I’d give you something that never makes you feel alone”.

  
  


“I never feel alone,” Nat replies without even looking him in the eyes.

Lying about this makes her feel better, even though she doesn’t know the reason.

“Yeah, sure,” he says with a knowing smile “Of course you never feel alone, but would you accept this gift? It would make me feel better knowing that you have something that reminds you of me”.

He knows her too well, Nat thinks still not looking at him. She may be strong on the surface, but she’s still human as the rest of them. She always had a sense of emptiness in her heart, something that began to fade away when she met Clint and the others. She will never admit to them, but they are her family.

“Here, this is for you,” he says suddenly embarrassed.

Clint gives Nat a velvet box. She smiled shyly at him. She cannot help but be herself when she’s with him and Natasha knows that she can show her ‘weakness’ to him - because he knows every single one of them. She still remembers when Loki told her that day.

“ _I won’t touch Barton, not until I make him kill you. Slowly, intimately, in every way he knows you fear. And then he’ll wake just long enough to see his good work, and when he screams, I’ll split his skull._ ”

_The fear in her eyes is real. She knows that Clint is a puppet right now, and that Loki holds his strings. She turns her back to him, sniffling and closing her eyes, allowing one tear to roll down her cheek before steeling herself._

_“You’re a monster,” she says to him to buy herself some time to calm her nerves._

_Clint knows her. Clint knows what she fears, what could break her forever. He knows, but she will not allow Loki to use him as a puppet anymore. Natasha will bring back her friend and there’s nothing that Loki can say or do that will change her mind._

  
  


But she never regretted showing her real self to her friend.

“Nat?”, he asks worriedly “Natasha, are you alright?”

“Sure,” Nat says with a smile “Sorry… I was- it doesn’t matter”.

  
“Well, aren’t you curious?”

“Yes, sure,” she smiles.

Natasha opens the small velvet box and sees a delicate necklace with an arrow pendant.

“It’s a symbol of our friendship,” he says “I guess it's a way… to tell you that you’re my arrow”.

“Your arrow?”

“A bow is useless without its arrow,” he whispers to her like a secret between them “I know for certain that I would feel lost without you”.

The mere thought of losing him forever is enough for Natasha. She cannot think of a world without her best friend in it, so she understands what he’s trying to say.

  
“Don’t be silly, Clint,” she says “You will never lose me”.

“Good,” he whispers “May I?”

“Sure”.

He pulls the necklace out of the box, opening the hook, and helping Natasha to adjust the length of the necklace.

  
“Is that okay?”, he asks “I can shorten it more if you want”.

“No, that’s fine,” she says caressing the pendant.

“Do you like it?”

“Yes, of course,” Natasha nods.

  
“Happy birthday, Natalia”.

“Thanks”.

Clint hugs Natasha. Thinking about how much she means to him. He squeezes her tightly, for all the times he’s not next to her, to make her understand how much he cares about her. To make her understand that he loves her with every fiber of his being.

She smiles and her arms are around his chest. With everything that happened, Natasha trembles at the thought of having to love him during one of their missions. If a future situation requires a sacrifice, there is no doubt about which of the two should sacrifice. He has so much to lose, she doesn’t.

“Don’t even think about it,” he whispers in her ear.

  
“What do you mean?”, she asks confused.

  
“You were whispering, didn’t you realize it?”, he asks “We will never get to that point, remember that”.

“I really hope so,” she whispers into his chest.

“But let’s not think about these things,” he replies, “What do you want to do today?”.

“Don’t you have to go home?”, she asks, moving away from him.

“Nope”.

Again… that bright smile.

“Then I’m happy to spend some time with you,” Natasha replies “Like the old days”.

“Your wish is my command”.

They sit on the bed and start watching TV, without paying much attention to what they are watching, focusing more on the time they are spending together.

In her heart Natasha hopes Clint is right. She really hopes that none of their mission, however difficult, will separate them.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm trying my best to not make mistakes (English is not my first language) but if you see some mistakes please let me know!


End file.
